The special prosecutor’s team Tuesday named President Park Geun-hye as a suspect in the extensive corruption scandal involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil, rounding off its three-month investigation and handing the case back to state prosecutors.

It also decided to indict Lee Jae-yong, heir apparent of the nation’s most powerful conglomerate Samsung Group, along with four other executive-level officials of the group, for their connections to Choi.

“President Park will be booked as a suspect in the bribery allegations (involving Choi), as the two may be seen as accomplices,” Lee Kyu-chul, the spokesperson for independent counsel Park Young-soo’s team, told reporters at a briefing.
 

The charges against Park are expected to be handed over to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for further inquiry, he explained.

The suspended state chief, who is currently awaiting the Constitutional Court’s final ruling on her impeachment, still has constitutional immunity to criminal prosecution.

But with the state prosecution taking on the case, she may now face summons once she is permanently removed from power. The court decision on whether to oust Park is expected to come between March 10 and 14.

Investigators also confirmed they will send 17 more suspects to trial, over their alleged connection to the presidential corruption case. The list included key Samsung officials, as well as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee.

This puts the total number of indicted suspects indicted at 30, the largest-ever since South Korea first introduced an independent counsel system in 1999.

As for the detailed results of its past 90 days of investigation, the team is to make an official report Monday, Lee said.

The billionaire heir to the Samsung Group is now indicted on charges including funneling tens of millions of dollars to nonprofit foundations run by Choi in exchange for political favors that would help him tighten his control over the company.

The group’s controversial merger between two affiliates in 2015 was allegedly made with the help of the state-run National Pension Service, the largest shareholder of Samsung C&T, which is one of the affiliates.

Other charges against Lee include having provided -- or pledged to provide -- a total of 43 billion won ($37.5 million) to Choi’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, in the form of sponsoring her equestrian career in Germany.

In connection to the investigation, four other senior executives of Samsung, including corporate strategy office Vice Chairman Choi Ji-sung and President Chang Choong-ki, were indicted on the same day.

Also on the arraignment are the so-called “secret doctors” of President Park, including the general practitioner Kim Young-jae and former presidential consulting physician Kim Sang-man -- both of whom are accused of secretly performing cosmetic treatments on the president -- the former President of Ewha Womans University Choi Kyung-hee and other professors for allegedly giving favors to Choi’s daughter in university admission.

As for Choi, who was indicted by state prosecutors last November on charges of abuse of power, coercion and attempted fraud, the probe team said it has added more charges against her, including taking bribes and concealing criminal proceeds.

In the meantime, the special prosecutor’s probe into Park’s former aide Woo Byung-woo still remains unresolved, though it is ready to be handed over to state prosecutors from Tuesday. Woo had allegedly abetted -- or at least condoned -- Choi’s attempted fraud and abuse of power while serving as a senior presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2015 to 2016.

Following massive street rallies amid South Korea’s biggest political corruption scandal, President Park approved the launch of independent counsel Park Young-soo’s team last December before she was suspended of powers.

In addition to Tuesday’s indictment, the probe team had indicted 13 high-profile figures, including Choi, former chief of staff Kim Ki-choon and former Culture Minister Choo Yoon-sun.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)